FAIRBANKS, Alaska (CNN) -- Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin gave her final speech as Alaska's governor Sunday before stepping down from her post, telling a Fairbanks crowd that she is resigning "to chart a new course to advance the state." "Now people who know me, they know how much I love this state ... I feel it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical, politics-as-usual, lame-duck session in one's last year in office," Palin said, just moments before Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell was sworn in as governor.
"With this decision, now I will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right and for the truth," Palin continued. "And I have never felt you need a title to do that."
Palin announced in early July that she would step down this month. She has attributed the decision to tremendous pressure, time and the financial burden of a litany of ethics complaints in the past several months.
The complaints were without merit and took away from the job she wanted to do for Alaskans, Palin has said.
On Friday, Palin attended a farewell picnic in her hometown of Wasilla, and on Saturday, she attended another in Anchorage.
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At the Anchorage event, supporters displayed signs, including "Palin 2012" and "Palin, you're as great as Alaska." The few dissenters in the crowd said they wanted to come down and see what the hoopla was about.
Palin and Parnell passed out burgers and hot dogs at the food line.
A nationwide poll released Friday indicates that a majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of the outgoing governor. But the ABC News/Washington Post survey also suggested that seven out of 10 Republican voters maintain a positive opinion of Palin.
Fifty-three percent of those questioned in the poll view Palin negatively, with four in 10 holding a positive view of her.
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